Of Beauty & Beasts
by Bamon
Summary: With the One Ring destroyed, all eyes are set on hunting down the Orcs, Uruk-Hai, and Wargs that managed to escape death thus far. The Valar refuse to sit back and let such persecution begin when most if not all knew no other way of life then that which the White Wizard taught them. So the Valar intervene, sending a woman from the 21st Century to ME in the body of a Warg.
1. Chapter 1

**Of Beauty & Beasts.**

Chapter One: The Valar Intervene.  


"It is such a shame."

Nienna murmured as she watched the events unfold after the One Ring had been discarded into the fires of Mount Doom. Surrounded by the other Valar, she couldn't help but voice her empathy over the Orcs, Uruk-Hai, and Wargs who were being slaughtered just because their Master had done the most impressive job of enslaving and brainwashing them. After all, what choice did they have? Orcs and Uruk-Hai were judged on their hideous appearance and what the White Wizard had made everyone see them as. None of the Uruk-Hai knew anything other then what the White Wizard told them. They did not know right or wrong, and most of the Orcs who were bred within Isenguard were the same. The Wargs didn't have things any better especially since they could understand the voices of those who were deemed their Masters.

Malkor's gaze wandered to Nienna as he put a large, rough hand on her bare shoulder.

"What is a shame?"

He asked, his voice as rough and wild as a roaring ocean.

"All those lives lost. The Uruk-Hai knew no better. The Wizard taught them nothing but what he had told them. They did not know right from wrong. The Wargs had little choice either. Just like the Uruk-Hai no race of Man, Elf, or Dwarf would give the Warg a second look if they met one before the war. They would be deemed evil. It is not their fault they only understand the Black Speech of Mordor and the language of Orcs. It was how they were created. Other languages aren't primal enough for the Wargs to understand and all animals know is the instinct to survive. The Orcs... The few original that lived outside Isengard before the Wizard forced their compliance... I'm sure they'd be happy to return to their old lives. Why should they be killed off as if they are nothing more than evil beasts?"

Nienna exclaimed, her voice filled with passion and fire as she beseeched not only Malkor but the rest of the Valor for their agreement and help.

"Eru would not appreciate us intruding on the lives of Adar. He would not approve it either Nienna. You know this."

Manwë warned, his voice although filled with power and authority as was right of the King of the Valar but not as powerful as Malkor who was indeed the most powerful of all of them. His concern was for Nienna, who as the Queen of Mercy, often had her compassion for everything they had created overwhelmed her. This was one of the issues that she felt most passionate about. It wasn't the first time Nienna had brought it up either. Although the Valar had all the time in the world being immortal as they were a deadline was coming up soon. Each event could be foretold, seen before it happened, and there was always a certain amount of time in which the event could be altered. For the Valar, they had seen the War of the Ring ended more than a million times but it was within the next Ardar month that the deadline for which the event could be altered would arise.

Nienna's eyes flashed with fury as she looked towards Manwë.

"So just because your King of the Valar, you're Eru's whipping boy? We must do something! You have seen what the age of Man shall do to Adar. If we help save these three races it could bring about a better future for not only them but the other races. Should everything but Man fall into myth and legend, their history and truth forgotten? Should innocent lives be slaughtered because they knew no better? It is not right! Eru may not be willing to interfere and stick to this code but we have not made such a vow. All we need is the right soul."

She snapped, her passion for her beliefs beginning to touch those of the other Valar. There was silence for a long while before eventually Malkor spoke up.

"Say we do this, how will we find this soul?"

Nienna grinned happily, her expression that of a delighted child thoroughly prepared. With a flick of her wrist the scenes of the War of the Ring disappeared from the water filled basin, and in its place showed a young woman who clearly was so deep into the future that what ancestors of hers may live today would be so far back that it wouldn't be seen on a pedigree table.

The young woman was a dark brunette but in the right light you could see strands of red and blonde in her long, very slightly wavy, shoulder length hair. She had piercing cobalt blue eyes, and a very classic English Rose looking face with rounded cheeks that held a light blush and full lips that could be described as a cupid's bow. Her eyebrows were unfortunately thick and unruly, especially since it seemed the young woman was not the best plucker in the world but did indeed try her best. She stood at five feet nine inches in height at least, with a nice pair of legs and size six and a half feet that were not either too big or too small. She was quite rounded on her stomach, something she fiercely labelled as 'Puppy Fat' and nothing more, with a small 36A bust and a well-rounded, large bottom that must have been a family trait. All in all she wasn't hideous but she wasn't exactly a mouth-watering supermodel either. She was clearly someone who was looked over for most if not all of her life.

Malkor raised an eyebrow as he looked from the image of the woman to Nienna.

"Her? What is so special about her?"

He asked, which was pretty much the main question every one of the Valar had on their mind.

"Look again."

Nienna spoke, and when they did indeed look again it was not her outer appearance everyone saw - it was that elusive soul and heart.

The purity of both, the strength of character, the passionate fire it held, was all so overwhelmingly strong and beautiful that most found it hard to look away. All except for Malkor, who was also known as the Dark Power, found it hard to look at. He instead looked to Nienna who looked thoroughly pleased with herself.

"She may not look like much but when backed into a corner she will fight and fight with passion. She has love and compassion for all creatures but will not stand for any kind of prejudice or any kind of bullying. She will be able to unify all races, and whats best of all she probably won't even realise what a huge thing she is doing. To her she will feel like she is only doing what is right. She sees and feels more than the average Man. If we took the time I am sure we would be able to trace her back to various races that live in Middle Earth."

Nienna spoke, almost like narration, as the other Valar watched the young woman not only suffer her own bullying throughout her life but speak up for those who have also suffered. Mostly it was for those she never saw and only to the few family she had left, and even those people barely listened to her. It was clear she did not belong in that modern world, and that in the right place she'd only grow into the soul and heart that so far was being held back due the opression of her current era.

It seemed like Nienna waited on baited-breath before finally each one of the Valar nodded their agreement on this course of action.

"At which point in time shall we send her?"

This of course was one of the most vital points - although they did not want to change which side won the War, it would have to be sometime during the War to make enough of a difference on the views of the three races the White Wizard had enslaved.

"I suppose it depends on what smaller events we can afford to change."

Manwë said wisely, causing all the others to nod. One such smaller event they could not change was Gandalf falling with the Balrog.

"Perhaps she should be there from the beginning? The hobbits were rather sheltered before they left their homes. They'd be more likely to welcome her into the fold at that point."

Varda mentioned, her own wisdom making it clear why she was the spouse of Manwë and thus the Queen of the Valar.

"We should also make note of the rules of this sort of transfer, and thus decide on what this woman shall be merged with in this world."

The queen added, causing a murmur of agreement to go through the Valar.

"We could go a few ways with this. We either merge her with that of an Elf, use the standing that race has to give her the voice and power needed for others to listen, or we merge her with that of one of the other races, perhaps Warg, and she can make a stand in that form to show it's what is beyond the surface that counts."

Mandos, judge of the dead, spoke up with an unwavering tone. At this various others spoke at once voicing their opinions for their choice of the two until a shrill whistle from Malkor silenced them. Clearly what she should merge with was going to be the toughest decision.

After all you couldn't just move one thing from one place in time and place it in another. It would rip so many fabrics of time and reality that everything would end up collapsing in on itself. First, if the thing was living permission must be obtained from the creature itself to be moved from its place in time because once moved it would be impossible to go back. Second, the creature's current body must die upon transference. The body itself was just the form of the soul's appearance visible. It was the soul and heart of the person that was transferred, everything that made the person who it was, through time to where it was needed. Third, there must an available body to house in the time wanted that the soul & heart could reside in. Therefore a body must be found. A body that although its soul & heart had died could live on with a new person merged with it and a little kick from the Valar itself. There had to be a place for the soul & heart to go. That was the most crucial.

Malkor rose his hand to gain everyone's attention before speaking up.

"I do not think an Elf would be a wise choice. From what I have gathered of seeing the woman's life, although she may initally enjoy the ethereal beauty of the Elf in the long-term she would come to detest it. She would feel like she is not herself, and any attachments made in this new life would be false due to what she is. Perhaps being a Warg would be the better choice. She has shown great love for animals, especially that of the wolves in her time. They are just descendants of our current Warg, and I feel she would be best suited there. To aid her we can always give the Warg chosen a little tweak once she is in it and have her able to take her own human form on the night of the full moon until such a time she has managed to take the darker races off the slaughter list. After that she could perhaps change between the two forms at will so she may then make this new life of hers properly her own."

It didn't take long for the others to see the wisdom in these words. With the form decided upon, they then went about deciding just where in the timeline of the War of the Ring to put her. There was talk amongst themselves before eventually Nienna took control of the conversation once more.

"I do not think there are Wargs near the Shire at the beginning of the War of the Ring. The Fellowship first encounter wolves on the day they reach Moria, so perhaps we should have her placed there? Not only could she protect the Fellowship herself by fighting off the wolves, but also help them with what lives in the lake and inside the tunnels of Moria. With the darkness inside Moria, should she wish to do this unseen for the most part by the Fellowship themselves then she can do. Since the War of the Ring has also been classified as fiction in her time, she should know all that will occur and should know which events must take place for things to work out right. We can make sure of this, of course, when we talk to her to get her permission for this transfer. What do you think?"

It didn't take long for all of the Valar to agree, and it was further agreeded that Malrok would be the one to do the actual transfer. After all he held the most power and thus it would give the whole mission more of a chance to succeed with him behind it all. Of course everyone else would lend their abilities if or when they were needed as they all wanted this to succeed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I have read a lot of LOTR fanfictions, and of course watched all the Movies - some a few times. I love them. Note however, I have not read any of the books, and so this for the most part will be Movieverse but with some Book elements provided in the LOTR Wikia I have found. Some also have my own twist, such as the Valar in this chapter and slight edits on the Warg's appearance in the future chapters. The rules of transferance through time are all mine, and just seem to make logical sense to me. I own nothing but the few things I have mentioned previous - the rest belong to the author & the movie people. The information used on the LOTR Wikia is credited to those who found the info and of course the author who wrote the illustrious books. If any wish to help with this story, such as provide information I may have missed or you think may prove useful in the future, feel free to send me a message! I'd appreciate it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Of Beauty & Beasts.**

Chapter Two: Human To Warg.

Maria grumbled in fustration as her umbrella turned inside out due to the fierce wind as the storm grew in power. Unfortunately, with the fierce wind the storm was producing such heavy rain that within seconds she was soaked to the bone. Knowing there was no point to drag the hood of her coat back up since her front door was four large strides away, she hurried down the driveway to the simple brown front door.

"Damn it!" She muttered, "Okay, okay, hang on, I'm getting you some fish Fatboy."

She told her fluffy champagne persian neutered male cat. Dumping her umbrella into a very tall vase she used to keep umbrellas, she then shed her coat and spread it over the radiator in the hallway. Next to it she turned up the dial for the heating since she was now freezing and soaked to the bone. Toeing off her ankle length black boots - which were heaven on the feet, especially after having to wear tight shoes that leave blisters and make your feet sore - she quickly padded down the hallway and into her medium sized kitchen where she quickly filled a bowl with a tin of tuna, placing it inbetween her cat's water bowl as well as her cat's biscuit bowl. With the cat fed, and hopefully quiet for a while, she walked back down the hallway to the stairs that were located near the front door.

Maria quickly walked up the stairs and into the only bedroom in the house where she stripped off her clothes as quickly as possible, dumping them in her laundry basket before walking into her adequate en-suite. It was not too large and luxurious but not tiny and basic. She really had gotten lucky with this house, although she would have preferred not to get it how she had. Forcing such thoughts from her mind she took the longest shower she had ever been patient and blessed enough to have. She had made sure the water was hot so that by the time she got out her muscles were loosened and she was warm as well as toasty with the water off.

She thoroughly dried herself off in her en-suite, wanting to limit dripping around her laminate wooden flooring that was found all the over the house except the two bathrooms which were tiled. Since it was late, about eight o'clock, Maria just pulled on her simple black pajama trousers and purple short sleeved pajama t-shirt along with her fluffy slipper-boots before making her way back downstairs.

Her life had never been easy. Sure, her family had been upper middle class and although sometimes there were moments where they were tight on money they hadn't lived that badly. Her childhood was spent camping both in tents and site provided caravans in France and Spain. Just as she reached teenage-hood there was that first trip to Disney Land, Florida with her parents and two siblings. Then, once she reached late teens and through to twenty six years old there were frequent trips to Florida since her grandpa on her father's side had unfortunately died from bowel cancer, leaving them with enough of an inheritance to put a deposit down. It was almost funny really since her parents had gone out alone just to look at villas but came back with two. Of course after a year one had to be sold, but with the other still theirs the trips had continued. They had never wanted for anything.

However, Maria had been bullied throughout every year of her education, and with the death of her Grandad, her mother's father, who had been the person she loved the most as well as could most relate to from lung cancer, she sank into a deep depression. It was her Grandad who got her through the years of bullying, and with him gone all will to try to keep herself together just seemed to disappear. It was only as she reached twenty five, after many therapists, she found someone that actually helped. The little girl she saw in home movies before she had ever started primary school had once been unrecogniseable; she had been confident, liked being infront of the camera which came out traditionally ever christmas to record them opening presents, and openly hammed it up for the camera. How could that ever have been her? That girl had been so confident in her self, so content and happy with who she was, and after the bullying she had turned into a shy, quiet, young woman who could no longer find the will or confidence to even consider trying to make friends let alone find a job.

With someone found, a worker for the only decent job centre programme, the girl she used to be seemed to gradually come back. She knew she'd never be the diva that little girl had been but she had finally found the self esteem and confidence in who she was that she could finally look people in the eye without feeling the need to look away and blush (especially at attractive men). With morals learned throughout the bullying (she was still a virgin and was willing to wait until her wedding night) she didn't feel that there was anything wrong with her anymore. She liked who she was. She didn't need anyone else to be happy. Although finding someone to love would be nice she did not need it. She was not desperate for attention or a romantic companion like so many women were nowadays. She was finally happy and so self confident, so content, that she finally felt free. Although the bad word or bad opinion that had cut through her so brutally before did still hurt her there was one difference; she did not let it hold her down. Sure, she'd cry for an evening, let it all out, but the next morning she'd be the happy girl again. It didn't matter what anyone else thought of her. She had learnt the most important life lesson one could learn; if you were happy with who you were then what the fuck did everything else matter? She didn't need anyone else to make her happy.

Her life was her own, and grabbing it by the horns she sought out the one career she had always wanted to do since she was in the higher half of primary school. She became a nursery nurse. Sure, it had been tough - a year and a half of volunteering at the local country park - but she got her first job in it at the age of twenty six as an apprentice. She would not be forced into a job that would not make her happy. She had seen what it had done to her parents, and although they were the greatest parents she been lucky enough to have, she knew their jobs had taken a large toll on them.

So here she was, at twenty seven years old with a job that made her happy and a ten year old cat who acted like he was still five years old (as well as had a foghorn for a voice) for company. Life was good, and although she preferred family to making friends as well as hadn't really had a date before, she was rather content with her life even though the various problems of her word drove her crazy. If the political parties could be destroyed, real good people actually be able to replace them, and a decent thoughtful Prime Minister could be found a lot of their problems including financial could be solved. Alas, it didn't seem to be happening any time soon so she did her best to ignore the news as possible, voted for the lesser of the evils (mainly UKIP since they hadn't been able to take that all important role yet so why not give them a chance?), and spent what time she had at home watching comedy programs as well as writing a fictional novel for her own enjoyment.

Once her dinner was eaten, an episode of Mock The Week and Would I Lie To You on the Dave channel watched, Maria headed up to bed with a full stomach and a smile on her face. Burying under her thick duvet and tiger print throw, she fell asleep to the sound of her cat Whisper Cinderglo (or Wiggy for short since with his long thick fur even as a kitten he had looked like a wig) purring at the end of her bed.

Whilst her life was good she could not help but feel maybe, just maybe, she could have done more.

Maria's dreams had always been vivid. Sometimes they were like real life movies in her head that she watched. Sometimes she was even in them, feeling everything as if it was entirely real although subconsciously she always knew it was a dream. However this time it seemed a lot more real then usual as well as spooky but enchanting.

Everything was white; the floor, ceiling, walls, and the mist that covered most of the floor. There were also quite a few figures that looked like to her human eyes that they were made up of a darker white smoke or mist, that for some reason stood out very well against their surroundings. You'd expect not to be able to tell anything about them, and sure she couldn't really see any features but instinctively she seemed to just know who was male and female. It was such a strange occurrence, it almost seemed like something between spiritual and religious, so she felt that the need to be quiet and respectful, as well as in slight awe, was need.

Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think that anything that would come out of this dream would ever happen. Sure, she had fantasied once or twice as well as read a hell of a lot of fanfiction but she never thought it could ever come real. I mean who would ever consider LOTR was real and their past? No one. Most fantasied about it but no one ever realistically expected it to be real.

"You want me to what?!"

Maria asked in disbelief after the figures had explained who they were as well as why they were there. She just couldn't quite believe they would want her to do this and she was their first pick too apparently. Why on earth would they want her? It wasn't as if she was built for walking (and running) across the vast wilderness that made up Middle Earth. Sure, she was fitter now but she highly doubted she'd be fit enough to go from the shire to the nearest elf village. Plus, what about food? The thought of eating rabbit turned her stomach, she had tried eating a venison sausage and never ever wanted to try that again since it almost made her sick, and she hadn't heard of any sheep or cows in Middle Earth either. There were so many realistic reasons why she shouldn't go - mostly it concerned her survival - but the pleading nature of the Valar and her own curiousity about the whole venture (It was LOTR!) she found herself actually considering it. Also, she had always wanted to be in the body of an animal and to see the canine version of the Sabertooth Cat known as the Warg stirred up the fantasist in her. It would be so exciting!

Besides, it would be so interesting to find out if Legolas, Aragorn Boromir and Faramir were as attractive as the books and movies led us to believe. She could even oggle them and as a Warg no one would be able to tell. It wasn't every day a girl - especially a romantic and sexual starved one as Maria - got every day.

Food wise and travelling she knew she'd regret going, but it was just too tempting to say no.

Little did she know how many major changes her life would go through due to this decision.

"Okay, you've talked me into it. I'll go to Middle Earth and save the Orcs, Uruk-Hai, and Wargs."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm so so sorry it took me so long to update this story. I swear I haven't abandoned it in any way. Thankyou so much for everyones reviews! They all made my day and have made me one hundred per cent dedicated to have this full-length story complete.

Nightbloodwolf - Your review really made my day. I wasn't sure if anyone would like my female OC lead, and I really hate Mary-Sues (if I could destroy them all I would) so I was also concerned the female OC lead could come across that way. To have you say she is really interesting made my day. I hope this chapter lived up to your enjoyment of the first chapter.

CGKrows - Thankyou so much! I think it was Zoop's stories that made me consider the truth behind Orcs, Uruk Hai, and Wargs, so all thanks goes to her (or him) for inspiring me. I also wanted to make sure that this story was logical. I've read so many stories where female OC is just dropped into the LOTR universe with little to no explanation of how she got there, and then most of the time they're a Mary-Sue Elf which drives me nuts. So, I really wanted to make this story logical and thorough. I am so glad that it came across fresh and unique - thats the best compliment you could have given me. Heres hoping I've continued the standard you've seen thus far in this chapter.

Phoenixfeather05 - I'm so sorry it took so long for me to update, but since this chapter was extra long I hope I am forgiven. Thankyou so much for saying this story has potential - hopefully this has not declined in your point of view.

Whitewolfwoman - Again, I'm sorry updating it took so long (I blame Rosmund for being so obsessed with my X-men fics XD ) but hopefully this extra long chapter made the wait worth it.

Guest - Thankyou so much for your awesome review! I really did want to do something a little different, something fresh, and I am so glad its come across that way. It always seemed unrealistic to me that people from our era would suddenly just appear in the LOTR's world without any logical explanation given. There must be some sort of rules for time travel - it just doesn't seem realistic to me that one body could be yanked from one era to another without any repercussions, so I really wanted to get that across in the first chapter. Hopefully your excitement continues after this chapter!

Mandapanda96 - Of course I will continue. I am not the type to give up on any story, and I do love all the stories I have done so far. I may take a while to update sometimes but I will always update! You can rely on that and me. I'm so happy you find this interesting and hope you continue to do so.

Mistra Rose - I would tell you all the plans I have for this story but then it wouldn't be a surprise! I really hope I keep your interest, so don't give up on me yet!

Thankyou to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, and read this story. You all rock!


	3. Chapter 3

**Of Beauty & Beasts.**

Chapter Four: Look Mum, I Can Walk!

Maria wished she could say she had passed out and not experienced any of the transformation however that was not the case. When she awoke from her dream she felt her heart beat began to pick up, her breathing heavily because of it, and she felt like she had just run a fair distance. However her heart beat didn't stop picking up its pace, infact it went faster and faster until suddenly she saw the Valar again, her breathing now coming in short painful gasps as her lungs desperately tried to keep going.

It was then she realised what was happening; her body in this world was dieing and from the feel of it then it was going to be a heart attack. She supposed it was the most natural and least suspicious way but she would much prefer she didn't feel it.

She did however feel the exact moment her heart beat went from an impossible speed to just cutting out. She felt the exact moment her organs shut down, and half a second later she was stood near the Valar only she was in the standard ghost form that humans recently seemed to have created. It was her body but see-through. She refused to look back at the back and instead stared at the Valar. Within seconds her world that she knew began to fade away and another took its place.

Once the world was solid she saw a Warg, a lot more majestic then the humans had created, who took its last breath infront of her. Before she could really react to it she felt a squeezing sensation followed by a sensation of growing bigger to fit within something else. There was a painful blast in her chest, and suddenly she could breath again. She found herself gasping for a few minutes before the steady rhythm of her heart and lungs started. With her organs now working, Maria slowly opened her eyes. To her shock everything looked a hell of a lot more sharper, everything smelt more intense, she could feel everything more, and she had a feel she would be able to taste a hell of a lot better.

Licking her lips, she turned her unfamiliar head to look for the Valar but found she could not see them. Had they left? Suddenly information flooded through her brain she did not know - where she was in the timeline, and roughly where she was in relation to where the Fellowship would pass by. She found herself thanking the Valar, having a feeling they had injected this information to her brain as a farewell and as a help, before she slowly began to wriggle parts of her body.

She was definately in a four legged animal with thick fur that kept her snuggly warm. She had sharp teeth too, she noticed, as she ran her tongue around inside her mouth. She felt her ears on the top of her head as they instinctively flicked this way and that to listen for prey as well as threats. She also had a tail, all be it a short one, and found herself wagging it a little in experimentation.

However she knew she couldn't dawdle so it was time she learnt how to walk, again.

Whilst she had crawled before, especially when she had broken her leg over a year ago, even up some stairs on her hands and knees she had a feeling walking on four paws would be a lot different. However she had a deadline to meet. Apparently it was mid-day on the 12th January, the day before the wolves attacked in the early morning and she couldn't be late. If she saved the Fellowship she knew it would be more likely that they would accept her.

So with that in mind Maria tested out her front paws first. She got them as close to her chest as possible, laying flat against the ground, before pushing herself up with them. Once her upper half was up, she was relieved so far she was doing alright, she turned her head to look at her hind paws. This would probably be the difficult bit - she was just glad no one would see her if she ended up doing something stupid. She tucked her hind paws under herself as she had with her front paws and then pushed against them with her strength. To her surprise her hind end went up and she couldn't help but grin as much as a Warg could.

Now all she had to do was walk. She had seen horses, cats, and dogs walk. Surely it couldn't be too hard? Although she had a feeling that although going slow may not be too hard with concentration, that she would end up needing to run as well as jump if she was not only going to get where she needed to be but also attack the wolves who were going to attack the Fellowship. Shame she didn't have much time for a crash course on how to move with this body, but she wasn't about to let anyone down. Maria, although realistic with her limitations and doubting she'd be able to change a whole world's opinion anyway, had promised the Valar she'd try and damn it she couldn't bear anyone looking down on her in any negative way so she was going to try her damn hardest and just hope it didn't look too bad if she ducked behind something big if an arrow, sword, or axe came her way.

At first she moved one front paw, then the other, and then a hind paw, before the other hind paw. This way she was stretching her body to much and tired her far too quickly. Pausing, Maria tried hard to think of how this animal could walk. Since it looked like (at least in the movies and from descriptions) a canine version of the Sabertooth Cat, then wouldn't it make sense if it walked like a canine? Didn't they walk with the diagonal paws moving at the same time in the same direction? Deciding to try it out, Maria took a stride with her front right and hind left paws at the same time whilst watching her paws move as much as she could. It didn't feel as bad as her first try, so she did it again with her front left and hind right paws, pleased when she came to the same standing position she had been earlier but a bit more forward.

Maria walked very slowly at first, trying to get used to the very odd way of walking, but after an entire hour she felt like she had gotten the hang of it enough that she didn't have to watch her paws any more. Now, her next problem was figuring out which direction to go and how to find the Fellowship. They had been travelling a while, so maybe she could pick up a stinky male odor? She was sure when she was close enough she'd be able to pick up talking and if it sounded human instead of primitive growling then she was pretty sure it would be the Fellowship. She doubted, however, she'd understand any of their words since she only talked and understood English whilst they spoke an entirely different kind of language - the kind English had eventually after a very long couple of millenia had developed from.

It seemed like it was mid-afternoon, at which point Maria was seriously beginning to worry she'd never make it, that her nose finally picked up on a non-nature scent. Many scents, actually. Relieved, Maria walked a bit quicker in the direction she smelt the scents from. In her old body she would have been exhausted a while ago, but this Warg's body was in prime fitness, so whilst Maria felt like she wanted to pant from exhaustion the Warg's body was absolutely fine and still filled with a lot of stamina as well as energy. It was entirely confusing, conflicting, and Maria had to consciously try to stop herself from doing very human things that this Warg did not do nor need. Perhaps if she had ran double or more of the distance the Warg's body may feel a bit of tiredness but walking as slowly as she had been doing had not tired the Warg in the least bit.

It was evening when she reached something promising. The first thing Maria saw out of the ordinary was a stocky pony. She hadn't seen anything remotely familiar to her world (besides the trees, grass, and sky) since she had been here so seeing the fuzzy pony was rather a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately it seemed as soon as the pony realised she was there it didn't think so. She couldn't help but flinch as the pony began causing a ruckus by rearing, neighing, and generally trying to break free from the rope that was tieing him to a tree. It wasn't long before what looked like a small child and tall, slender, enchanting blonde appeared. Whilst the small child was trying to calm the pony the blonde male, she couldn't be entirely sure but she guessed it may just be male and Legolas if she had found the Fellowship, was scanning the area for what had scared the pony.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before his keen eyesight spotted Maria, or rather Legolas spotted a Warg.

She had a bad feeling that she would be hiding from arrows a lot sooner then she had expected. Sure enough, his hand went to the arrows at his back causing her to yelp as she suddenly spun to her left and dove behind several trees in an attempt to hide as well as be hidden enough that the arrow did not have a clear shot. When she didn't hear an arrow hit something, Maria slowly peeked out her head around a tree to see what was going on. The blonde looked bewildered, and he wasn't alone either. It seemed like the whole Fellowship had gathered there and were now talking. There was a musical voice amongst them, and she realised it must be Legolas.

Upon seeing an elderly looking man (although being in the fellowship his body was clearly anything but old if he could keep with all these younger men) she realised this must be Gandalf. If anyone could make them believe she wasn't a threat it was them. So with ears pricked forward, her small tail wagging, she walked out from her hiding place and began walking towards the wizard. She froze however as Legolas' arrow was in his bow ready to shoot and watched him wearily as her ears instinctively went backwards towards her skull.

She licked her lips, trying to figure out how on earth she was going to let them leave her alive when suddenly it hit her - she was an animal! Animals, especially wolves, whimpered and whined when in distress. She could even try a submissive pose. Surely none of them had ever seen a Warg, or any other wild animal, do that?

So with a solution found, Maria slowly eased herself down onto her belly - thanking god that she managed to do it without looking like a newborn puppy who had never done it before - before she tried making a whine. Whilst she had growled and purred as a human (well as close as a human could get whilst imitating her pet cat although she was pretty sure he was more amused then actually understood her at all) she had never tried a sound like this before. She tried for a few minutes to produce it but since it was so unnatural for a human and she had yet to fully merge with what was left of the Warg inside the body she ended up huffing in annoyance.

Maria did notice the wizard looked intrigued as well as in deep thought, and she couldn't help but wish he'd figure out what she really was as well as who - or at least figure out she was most definitely not a threat. She decided she may as well try saying 'please', knowing it would not work with a Warg but hoping it would produce the sound she needed.

"Please..."

She said, all be it just in her own mind and to her delight a whine came out. She was so happy she could produce it that her ears pricked, her tail wagged happily, and a happy sparkle crept into her eyes as her bum wiggled in time with her tail. She was the man! Er, Warg. Still, she doubted anyone would have gotten this far without being a wolf expert or something. Maybe.

There was more chatter between the Fellowship, none of which she understood, before she watched Gandalf slowly approaching her. It seemed he was doing much to the non-small children of the Fellowship (namely Legolas, Aragorn, Boromir, and Gimli) protests. Lifting her head, Maria waited for the wizard to be close enough to touch before she slowly (although they'd probably think she was doing it out of wariness she was actually doing it slowly because she had only gotten up once on the floor and was worried she'd fall over if she tried to do it faster) stood up. Once standing she reached her head out towards the wizard's now outstretched hand. She stood quietly as he stroked her carefully at first before he became a little bolder and scratched her behind an ear.

It seemed she was bonded with the Warg more then she thought because before she knew it she leaning into the hand, tongue hanging out of her mouth, eyes closed and her tail was wagging even faster out of sheer pleasure.

There was more chatter and a sound that resembled an 'Aha!' almost before Maria opened her eyes since Gandalf had just stopped scratching her behind the ear. Clearly the tall adults did not trust her as far as they could throw her (she could see it in their eyes) but the small children looking adults seemed slightly curious. This was good since they hadn't been jaded and influenced completely about the darker species that lived in Arda.

Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as she thought it would be...

Not including the fighting, demon residing in the mines, wars, the white wizard, and the one eye.

Maria huffed. Why did men have to be so obsessed with fighting? If females were in charge she was sure it would be a more peaceful existence. Shame the heir to the throne was a male, although she supposed Aragorn wasn't bad to look at and if he did all he was destined to then he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

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**Author's Note:** And here's another chapter! I think its a mix of a little angst (due to her death) and being funny as Maria tries to work the Warg's body. I know there is little action in this chapter, but this is just the set-up, and there will be more happening next chapter - namely, the wolves! Lets see if Maria can actually figure out how to fight as a Warg, shall we?

Mistra Rose - She's there now, and hopefully you enjoyed this introduction chapter of sorts when it comes to Maria being in the world of LOTR.

LOTRFan - Thankyou honey! I'm so glad she isn't a Mary-Sue, and so far Maria has done well in the Warg's body. However it is going to get a lot more difficult in the future. After all, she'll have to do more then walk, stand up, lay down, and whine very soon. Haha.

Guest - I'm so glad my summary is so effective. I couldn't resist updating again, so hopefully this is soon enough and I'll be able to get another chapter out next week (would try this weekend but I'm going away to my sister's). Stay tuned to find out just how Maria changes everyones point of view on the species' that is everyones guilty pleasures!

Canadian Shorebird - Aww thankyou! I am so flattered. Here's another chapter, and I hope I'll get another one out soon. Enjoy! Its people like you who enjoy my writing that encourages me to keep going - not that I'd stop anyway. I enjoy these stories too! Haha.


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